


practically strangers

by WattStalf



Series: Femslash February 2017 [29]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: F/F, Femslash Big Bang Monthly Challenge, Femslash February, Pseudo-Incest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-22
Updated: 2017-02-22
Packaged: 2018-09-26 09:02:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9878429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WattStalf/pseuds/WattStalf
Summary: Hinoka and Corrin are not like they once were, and neither are Hinoka's feelings.





	

**Author's Note:**

> theme: Strangers

To her, Corrin might as well be a stranger. Hinoka knows this, but she doesn’t want to accept it. The lost princess was her closest friend when they were young, and she’s her sister, either way. She wants to be able to say that the two of them are as close as ever, but she knows better than that, as much as it hurts to admit. Corrin might as well be a stranger to her, and she isn’t sure how she’s supposed to talk to her sister now.

At first, things were easy, because there was catching up to do, and everyone had to do their best to make sure that she didn’t regret her choices, to make sure that she always felt welcome with the family that she never knew. But after a while, there wasn’t much for Hinoka to talk about with her, and she struggles now to figure out how to make things like they used to be.

Corrin might as well be a stranger to her, but Hinoka wants to be closer to her. She knows that she wants to be closer to her, even if she barely knows the person Corrin has grown up to be.

~X~

But it’s so hard to think of the Nohrian princess as her own sister, and all the while, it becomes increasingly easier to think of her as something else. At first, Hinoka doesn’t realize what it is, or that it’s even happening, and by the time she begins to understand her feelings, it’s far too late.

It’s far too late and she is so, so horrified with herself for this. Feelings of romance have always been foreign to her, as she’s dedicated herself entirely to growing stronger, both for the sake of her country and for the sake of recovering her long lost sister, and she doesn’t have much opportunity to grow close to others.

There are her other siblings, those who she’s never felt anything improper towards, and there are her retainers, but those two are almost like troublesome children, and she’d never even considered…

To think that it would be Corrin, after all this time. She would be at a loss no matter who she fell in love with, but knowing that she’s fallen in love with her sister, the one she’d already dedicated her life to in one way...she isn’t sure where she’s supposed to go from here, or how she’s supposed to cope with this. To think that she would find herself in this situation with no one to turn to, because how could she ever admit to these feelings?

If she’s going to be entirely honest, it isn’t surprising that it would be a girl, at the very least. Though she’s never been close enough with anyone she could actually fall for, she’s had the chance to learn her own tastes. She can recall the way she notices the beauty of women in ways she could never hope to with men, the way her eyes have lingered on strangers in the past- though she’s fortunately grown out of that habit. For a while, Hinoka has had her suspicions, and this certainly confirms them.

If only she could have found another woman, any other woman, but now she isn’t sure if she’ll ever be able to move past this. It’s so hard to forget Corrin when they’re always forced to be so close, when Corrin is always so nice to her and always tries to spend time with her. It’s impossible to fall out of love when she’s always reminded of why she’s fallen for her.

~X~

“Hinoka, do you have a moment?” It’s with this question that her older brother gets her alone, but she doesn’t expect him to ask about her recent behavior.

“What? Did I do something?”

“No, it’s not that you’ve done anything,” says Ryoma, before sighing. “I’m probably not the best to try to talk to you about this, but you  _ are _ my younger sister, and I’ve noticed that you don’t seem to be feeling yourself lately. If there’s something causing you problems, I wanted to let you know that you can talk to me about it, even I may not be the best to advise you.”

She can feel her face going red as he speaks. If even Ryoma has noticed that she’s been distracted, then perhaps she’s been a little too obvious. And, if that’s the case, Corrin might figure out and come to ask her what’s wrong, and then what’s she going to do? It’s going to be awfully hard to lie to her face like that.

“I’m not sure if it’s something I could talk about with you. No offense, it’s really just something I don’t want to…”

“Does it have to do with romance?”

“Wh- how could you...why would you even think that?!”

“So it does, then,” he says with a chuckle. “You know, you don’t have to tell me who they are. You could just explain your situation a little bit.”

She hesitates before saying, “I have...feelings for someone that I know I shouldn’t. It isn’t something I could ever pursue, but I have those feelings all the same. I know that I shouldn’t, but I couldn’t help it, as I got to know the person…”

“And why shouldn’t you pursue it?”

“Because it’s...not someone I can ever have a relationship like that with.”

“I’ve played clueless,” her brother says, “but I think I’ve suspected from the beginning what this is about. You don’t have to answer but...it is Corrin, isn’t it?”

Her heart stops at his words, but when she searches his face, she doesn’t find any hint of the disgust she expects to find there. Instead, his face is still softened ever so slightly with concern, with understanding in his eyes. How can her brother look at her like that, even knowing what he knows about her?

“Hinoka...there’s something that’s been kept from the rest of you, but I think it’s time I tell you something important about Corrin and Mikoto.”

~X~

When she reads the letter her late stepmother gave her, it only validates the almost-unbelievable story that Ryoma told her. Hinoka doesn’t know what she’s supposed to make of it all at first, but what she learns from her older brother and from the letter…

The letter was given to her in case she ever doubted her heart, but somehow, she’d never realized that it would be helpful in her own situation. In fact, she’d been avoiding reading it because she thought it would only make her feel worse, but now she knows. Corrin is not related to her by blood.

It still might come across as wrong for her to pursue this, and Corrin might reject her and say she only sees her as a sister, but now, Hinoka has everything she needs to feel at ease with her own feelings. The girl who was like a stranger to her, who stole her heart, is not her sister; no matter how others might see her love, she is able to accept it now, for what it is.

Now, the only thing left to do is show this letter to Corrin, and see where it goes from there.


End file.
